How Informed is Consent? A Field Experiment

Alexandra Avdeenko and Matthias Stelter

No 16988, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: In an increasingly data-driven world, data protection and the requirement of obtaining informed consent rapidly gain relevance. The intention is to protect data holders. Yet, is consent provided by data holders truly informed? In the context of empirical research, the requirement for informed consent can affect external validity and data quality of the evidence generated. Conducting a survey with 7,752 potential participants in rural Pakistan, we find that respondents are insufficiently informed about important aspects related to their consent. Experimentally changing the consent process, we find that showing an animated video has a negative impact on respondent’s understanding, but additionally engaging them in an interactive dialogue about the informational text significantly improves understanding. Even though we find effects on levels of understanding, we do not find meaningful changes in consent rates and non-response behavior indicating no adverse effects on the quality of the survey.

Keywords: Ethics; Survey methods; Data collection; Randomized control trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A1 C83 C93 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://cepr.org/publications/DP16988 (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16988

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
https://cepr.org/publications/DP16988

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers Centre for Economic Policy Research, 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().